THE POULTRY BOOK. 
125 
In place of endeavouring to give a description of eacli sub-variety, frequently 
perliaps of merely local celebrity, wo will follow the arrangement that is used at 
the principal poultry exhibitions, and describe the different breeds of Game fowls 
in the following order : — 
Black-breasted Beds, Brown-breasted Beds, Duckwings both yellow and white, 
with which are usually classed the Greys and Blues, Blacks (including the Brassy- 
winged), Whites, and Piles. 
In the Standard of Excellence,” published by the Poultry Club, the characters 
of Ginger-red and Birchen-yellow are also given ; and there are also several breeds 
of less notoriety, as the Henny-tailed, the Indian, &c. 
For the description of the most important of these varieties we are indebted to 
Mr. John Douglas, of the Clumber Aviaries. Writing of the Black-reds, he says : — 
At the present date, pure black-breasted red game are scarcer in England 
than was formerly the case. This arises from their having been so much crossed 
with brown-red, duckwing, and piles, that the pure colour has been nearly lost. 
The colour most frequently seen at the present time is a dull clay, or deep rusty 
red on the hackle, back, shoulders, and shoulder coverts. Instead of the beautiful 
orange-red, so much admired, the points of the hackle feathers are frequently of a red 
straw colour: these defects arise from injudicious crossing and want of sufficient 
knowledge respecting the production of colour. We must act upon the old maxim 
that ^like begets like,’ and breed with perseverance, from pure-feathered birds, 
in order to obtain the pure colours we desire. The most important points in 
the colour of a black-red cock are that the feathers of the head should be dark 
red, inclining to orange; the hackle clear orange-red to the very points of the 
feathers ; the back, shoulders, and shoulder coverts rich violet-red, the saddle 
orange-red, and the breast and tail rich black, perfectly free from white. 
In the different strains of black-reds the hackles frequently run off to a very 
light shade at the points of the feathers, especially if there is any duckwing 
blood in the strain ; whereas the birds that have a trace of the brown-red cross 
have a deep or dark red hackle, which, in consequence of a sameness of colour, 
does not contrast w^ell with the back and saddle, where a marked distinction 
ought to appear. If you breed from these deep reds, the pullets produced are 
of too dark a brown, and have the feathers of a dull light colour, instead of the 
beautiful golden brown, with a deep salmon breast, which should mark a pure 
black-red pullet. Black-red hens, to mate with pure-coloured cocks, must have 
light golden hackles striped with black, the colours being distinct and not running 
into each other ; the back and shoulder coverts must be light brown, slightly 
inclined to a shade of straw colour, perfectly free from mossing or pencilling; 
the breast clear salmon colour well up to the throat, but becoming ashy towards 
the lower part of the breast. 
“ Black-red hens, like all varieties of game, are good sitters and mothers, being 
very careful of their young; but they are rather savage towards other chickens, 
therefore it is desirable to coop them a good distance apart. I never set more 
